


A Time Dance

by siryamsalot



Category: Gargoyles (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Angst, Aro - Freeform, Aromantic, Aromantic Brooklyn, Aromantic Katana, Gen, Minor Original Character(s), Spoilers, it'll have a happy ending eventually i swear, the Ishimura clan (Gargoyles), the Xanadu clan (gargoyles), timedancer (Gargoyles)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21797476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siryamsalot/pseuds/siryamsalot
Summary: what if the proposed spinoff Timedancer wasn't soul crushingly sad? and what if it wasn't so heteronormative? welcome to A Time Dance; a Timedancer alternative by this sad bitch
Relationships: Brooklyn & Fu-Dog (gargoyles), Brooklyn & Katana (Gargoyles)
Comments: 27
Kudos: 6





	1. it's lonely out here

**Author's Note:**

> ok so this is the first writing I've EVER posted on the internet, so uh. go easy on me? and if i messed up tagging or something then let me know aksdfjskfj  
> I finally decided I might as well just POST SOMETHING, so here. I'll definitely be continuing this.
> 
> warning: spoilers for like, the whole canon. this takes place post-canon, so I guess spoilers is a given, but like. fair warning.

I tucked my beak between my knees and wrapped the giant leaf tightly around me. the sound of birds and bugs drilling into my ears wasn’t comforting. it was like the sound of crickets on steroids, screaming “you’re alone” into my ear.

I missed traveling with people.  
I missed Finella and Mary.

We travelled straight to some point in the 19th century in Greece after leaving their time. we met Puck, and told him about a human and gargoyle waking up an ancient clan. I had to make sure Xanatos and Demona would wake us up someday, and Puck was the perfect timeless being to bring the two together. He seemed to understand the whole ‘we’re from the future and we need you to help us make the timestream flow like it should’ thing. (Not that I didn’t let him know how much fun he had due to waking us up, to sweeten the deal.)

We left the Grimorum to an old guy named Xanatos, and told him to pass it to his great grandson. I didn’t trust Puck with it, but our David Xanatos had to get it somehow. MaybeMaybe it was reckless to give it to just any Xanatos. Was it a common name? And how many generations down would our Xanatos be from that guy?

But remembering the scowl on his face and the narrow of his eyes assured me. I’d only seen our Xanatos’ dad from a distance, but boy was that guy a dead ringer.

Last time I’d traveled with other people was leaving Mary and Finella in the 11th century, set with a canoe and headed for the isle of Avalon, to hopefully meet Mary’s little boy still little.  
I found my hand idly poking the place on my beak where Finella had planted a kiss before they left. “thanks for the help, and for the adventure.” she’d said.  
Were those flutters in my stomach?  
She was a human. Not that there’s anything _wrong_ with that, it just... didn’t usually happen. I didn’t feel like that with Elisa, right? I remembered the floaty feeling when her and Goliath and Bronx came home.  
maybe Finella was fluttery in a friend way?  
In a not-so-lonely way.  
In a not-as-lonely-as-right-now way.  


I sighed, wishing I’d gone with them to Avalon. But with any luck, Mary’s little boy was still little when they would arrive on Avalon, and the eggs were still eggs. And It’d be a bit over thirty years before I would see Goliath and Elisa again. Not to mention they didn’t see me then, so I couldn’t, or something. 

Pulling tighter on the leaf, clenching my eyes shut, I tried to imagine that it was broad wings around my shoulders, my brother’s wings.  
I scoffed. “what I’d do for some conversation right now.”  
The bugs only responded in shrill cricketing noises, making the whole scene cartoonishly lonely.  
And then a blaze of light flashed in the sky, and the phoenix fire ate me again.  
when it spat me out again it was over water again. I flapped my wings open and caught myself on the salty ocean breeze.

“kind of you to give me some height this time.” I huffed, flapping and trying to build momentum to get my feet out of the water. 

I glided towards land, my wings wobbly from exhaustion. My claws touched down on sand, and I felt a rising hopelessness in my chest as I looked around at the forested coast.  
I sat down on the beach, too tired to be bothered by the scratchy sand.  
“its not that I’m not happy to see ya, land, I was just hoping that you were Manhattan is all.”  
I didn’t know why I talked to myself, and to things that couldn’t talk. I didn’t notice it much before now, but I was alone a lot more than usual.  
I felt my body start to stiffen, and my skin constrict and harden. It was still dark, but I welcomed the sleep. 

After a day-length of dreamless sleep, I stretched out of my stone sleep and squinted at the light. I scowled. That’s some really bright moonlight.  
I glared towards where I figured to moon to be, only to be blinded by blue and white.  
I yelped and clawed at my eyes, clenching them shut and finding the bright spot burned into my vision.  
“Shit! ow. Of course, first time I’m awake in the day I wind up looking directly at the sun. idiot!”  
I stomped and kicked sand until I could see again, and then I kept my vision low and moved for the trees, grumbling. This was the same damn forest I was in before. I was dropped in almost the same place I’d started before. 

“’don’t get lost this time,' right, birdy?” I growled.  
I watched the warm light illuminate my feet. I’d always kind of wanted to see the sun. Well, sunlight at least. But it felt wrong right now.  
I just wanted to go home.

I wanted to see Goliath, I wanted to play video games with Lex and Broadway, I even wanted to hear Hudson complain about his soap operas. I wanted to see Angela, I wanted to greet Lex when he got home from his trip, I wanted to talk to Elisa.  
I’ll probably be there a second after I left.  
I leaned against a tree and peered through the woods, looking for anything familiar.  
But who knows how many years since I left?  
I bit back the thought. 

“you have to send me back before it’s been years.” I bared my teeth when I spoke to keep my voice from wavering. “before it’s been one year, okay?”

There was no sound but the rustling of the breeze through trees, and a distant twittering of unfamiliar bird calls, and the song that was stuck in my head.

_I miss the earth so much, I miss my wife,  
Its lonely out in space,  
On such a timeless flight.  
And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time,  
Till touchdown brings me round again to find,  
I’m not the man they think I am at home, oh no, no, no._

“promise?”

…

I continued walking, the ground becoming increasingly steep. I had to be here for a purpose, I had been the last few times, even if it was just scaring a human by accident, or fighting some animals off of unattended eggs. Might as well not keep destiny waiting...

The wind was warm. The sunlight dappled through the leaves, casting soft green shadows on the strange little shoots underfoot. I took a deep breath.  
I was starting to feel like I was just doing the timestream’s dirty work. I dropped to all fours to ease the strain on my legs as the ground steepened.  
I was starting to imagine finding a time close enough to the 90s and just waiting it out. But I had no control over the pheonix, and watching my younger self make mistakes, watching my clan from a distance, it’d be too hard anyway.

I took a deep growling breath and closed my eyes. The wind rustled through the trees. Birds twittered. I heard crickets and small animals shuffling. I opened my eyes. The sunlight was turning gold, as the sun got close to setting. It cast long shadows from the trees and the bamboo.

“you better keep your promise.” I said softly.

I saw structures in the distance, through the trees, spattered with golden light. Walls of red and white, with swoopy roofs like from the kung fu movies. Maybe I was in China.  
Curiosity dragged me forward, and I went as fast as I could quietly, hopping over the brush and fallen trees.  
I crouched down to peer from the foliage, admiring the massive, overgrown structure. Its roofs were gold, its walls covered in vines that filtered the sunlight into soft green shadows. I wished Lex and Broadway and Angela could see this. I felt an increasingly familiar twist in my stomach.  
I could still hear nothing but forest noises.  
Carefully, I crawled out of the brush, slinking to crouch by the stairs leading to an entrance. I inspected the statues beside the stairs. It almost looked like a lion, but if a lion was sculpted by someone who had never actually seen a lion.  
_Could it be a gargoyle?_  
I stood up and peeked through the thin horizontal window. the room inside was packed with similar lion-ish statues, as well as contemplative and nobly posed dragons of varying gargoyle sizes.

I turned back to the beast statue and leaned against the sturdy metal door. “well, you guys’ll be waking up soon if you’re gargoyles. Lookin’ around before then would be rude.”

I heard yelling in the distance, and I ducked into a crouch, hiding behind the statue.  
The yelling got closer, but I couldn’t make out any words I recognized. I felt a panic rise up in my chest as I slunk to keep on the opposing side of the statue from them. They had to be humans.  
What were they yelling about?  
They seemed to discuss a little more, and then one approached the statue I hid behind. I saw a bronze hammer raise above me and my beastly hiding place and my blood ran cold.  
_This is why I'm here._  
I launched myself over the beast’s shoulders, shrieking the most ferocious roar I could manage. My claws slammed into the hammer-wielders shoulders and knocked him to the ground.  
The other humans scattered, some darting into the woods. there were still a lot steadying themselves, all with hammers and swords.  
I bared my teeth and snarled at them. I was not going to stand by _a massacre._  
I launched myself back to the top of the stairs, and leapt off, spreading my wings and grabbing onto two humans. I used my momentum to launch them into a crowd, and looped around to land on the shoulders of a human moving towards the statues. I flapped my wings as the human struggled, failing to maintain balance. we collapsed in a heap. I ripped the sword out of his hand and drew the broadsword from my hip.  
launching myself at the group again. some ran. Others swung swords and hammers at me. I blocked, one swing after the other, doing my best to swipe swords and tail through them when I had a spare moment. A heavy blow crashed against my shoulder blade and I screamed at the sharp, cold pain spreading through the spot. I spun, swinging my tail, spreading my wings, flailing a sword in each hand, knocking away any human who didn’t leap back.  
I jumped back to the stairs and tossed my Chinese sword onto the roof. I Dragged myself up the wall, grabbed the hilt, jumped back off and launched into flight. I noticed humans circling to other doors of the building. Burning panic struck me again, and I bared my teeth. The humans beneath me were still focusing on me. I launched my Chinese sword towards the ambushing warriors, startling them into looking to me again. I dropped my broadsword on the roof.  
I swooped down, scooping up the beast statue around it’s waist and flapping to regain my height. It was a strain, the beast’s stone form like a brick of lead. A precious, perfect, dog-shaped brick of lead that I couldn’t let be destroyed. I rested the sleeping creature on the roof, grabbed my sword, and took off again, ignoring the sharp pain shooting through my wing and back.  
I grabbed some circling humans and dropped them back among the rest. I shrieked again, landing among the freshly regrouped enemy and clashing swords with them again. I moved back as they approached, trying to avoid another one getting behind me. My wings were starting to sting where they’d hit people. my right arm was weakened by the pain in that shoulder.  
I spread my wings and stood up tall, snarling and hoping that they’d give up.  
Instead they swarmed forward. I backed up the stairs. blades lunged, knocking me down on my back. I grabbed ahold of a swung mace, kicking the human off of it and then launching it into the crowd, braining some unlucky guy.  
And then, an echoing roar rung out across the hilltop, and the humans stumbled, voices rising in panic. From the roof above me, a green beast leapt, landing on the human in front of me and snarling a deeper and more ferocious sound than I could hope to make.  
The humans screamed, yelling to each other. I jumped down off the stairs as the doors flew open, and awakened beasts and gargoyles moved out, waving swords and claws.

The humans fled into the woods, every last one of them.

And I took a deep breath and collapsed to all fours, wincing at the stabbing pain in my arm.

I watched the gargoyles gather themselves, and I idly admired their shiny scales and tufty, colorful manes, all running down their necks like a horse’s. The idle throb in my shoulder got worse as my adrenaline wore off. A damp tongue startled me from my daze, and I turned to find the green beast waving its long, tufted tail and tilting its head at me. It woofed gently, and leaned forward to sniff my shoulder.

Someone spoke to me, and I looked up to see a dragon. She was tall, her scales a brilliant emerald. Long whiskers dangled from her face, moving with her head gestures as though they were underwater, or light as a feather. She was talking in something completely unfamiliar to me, probably Chinese. Her voice was smooth and high.

“u-uh...” I blinked at her. “sorry, I don’t... uh...”

“ah, English, then.” she spoke with a thick accent.

“oh! You speak English!” I felt a wave of relief at that language barrier falling down.  
I pushed myself to stand on two legs, and wrapped my aching, tired wings around my shoulders.

“thank you, stranger.” She said, “Were it not for you, our enemies would’ve likely decimated our numbers tonight.”

“hey, no problem. It's been a while since I’ve had a good fight anyway.” I laughed, and then winced at the pain in my shoulder from my small hand gesture.

She smiled, a little raise of her eyebrow. “let us offer you a day’s shelter to heal.”

“I wouldn’t complain to that.” I held my shoulder.

The clan lead me inside, and the emerald lady, their leader, introduced herself as Mei. She then introduced her second and mate, Heng.

“you can call me Brooklyn.” I said.

“how did you protect us during the day?” Mei asked. “you’re a gargoyle, why weren’t you asleep as well?”

“Uh…” how was I awake? I guess maybe it was like jet-lag… except time-lag? “its complicated.”

“what brought you to our doorstep? You look like you’re far from home.” Heng asked.

“I am. Very.” I laughed dryly. “I’m a traveler, I guess. Maybe more of a wanderer.” I moved my eyes from him. I didn’t want to be jealous of his beautiful mate, but if I was, I didn’t want to show it.

“a... wanderer?”

I glanced at him. he cocked his head at me, golden fluff on his face gently swishing in the breeze.

“don’t worry, I wasn’t banished.” I said with a nervous grin, realizing what a wandering gargoyle would imply. “more like, uh... stolen away.”

“oh.” he blinked. “...oh?”

I held back a laugh at his gentle confusion. “it’s complicated. And uh… magic.” I said. “let’s just say fate has an idea what I should be doin’. I’m playing its game till it brings me home.”

“really? Perhaps you were fated to save our clan from those human bandits!”

“maybe.” I couldn’t help but grin at him. “can you tell me where exactly I am?”

“you’re in southeast China. These mountains are home of the Xanadu clan.” Mei said. “where are you from? If I had to guess, I’d say Scotland.”

“good guess.” I said.

“are you hungry?” she asked.

“oh, yeah,” I remembered the idle crumple of my empty, angry stomach. “I haven’t eaten in uh, quite a while.” I grinned sheepishly.

Before I could protest or be convinced, heaps of rice and fish were brought to me.  
Someone, an older gargoyle judging by her graying mane and creasing face, brought balms and bandages and insisted on treating my shoulder, and although it stung, I couldn’t refuse. She spoke Chinese to me sternly, and when I looked to Heng for translation he gave a sheepish laugh and said “she says 'don't waste any time eating.’”  
The food was delicious. Broadway would love this... What looked like hundreds of gargoyle beasts dined with us, and I found myself admiring the sheer variety among them. I’d never seen so many beasts in one place. They were each different colors of greens, golds, blues and purples, some with long ears, fin ears like Bronx, thick manes of fur, some with scales and whiskers like the gargoyles here. There were long tails, short tails, tufted tails, long beasts and tall beasts and even some that were about Lexington’s size.

“I’ve never seen so many beasts in one place.” I said between questions my hosts flung at me, most translated through Heng. I idly passed a fish from my plate to one of the beast hatchlings that pawed at the cushion I sat on.

“our clan do our best to keep their numbers high.” Heng smiled. “they’re so rare in other clans, it would be a great tragedy to have them die out.”

I smiled at the beasts gathering around me for their chances at fish, and patted the head of the green one from before. “it would be. Your clan has a noble goal.”

The beast reached up to lick my face again. I laughed and pushed it’s face back.

Mei laughed her pretty laugh. “looks like she’s taken a liking to you.”

The green beast poked her tongue through my fingers and lifted her paws up to my shoulder. I waved my arms to try to catch myself as I was knocked down, the old gargoyles sturdy arms the only thing keeping my shoulder from slamming into the floor. “oof!”

Heng muttered exclamations and jumped to his feet, wrapping his arms around the beast’s huge shoulders and pulling her off. “down, dog! I apologize! She's still very young, just a year old.”

“it’s fine!” I laughed as the old lady pushed me back into a sit.

I was full and all bandaged up now, so I thanked the old lady and Mei dragged me to a room. She insisted I not move around much, and not aggravate the wound. She brought me water and scrolls to read. (or at least to look at the pictures in.)

“have you seen much of the world?” she asked.

“Eh, some of it…” I grinned. “I’ve seen Scotland, Greece, I’ve been to the Americas. This is my first time in China though.”

“is it nice to explore?” she asked.

I shifted my wings, wrapping them tighter around my shoulders. “I don’t know.” as much as I wanted to play at the tough, cool, mysterious warrior, it was nearly impossible to hide the homesickness that gnawed at my stomach. “some of it’s great, but I do miss my clan.”

“ah... that makes sense…”

“don’t you, uh,” I cursed how flustered I got, “have more important things to do? I’m sure you have lots of duties as leader.”

She just smiled at me, sitting down on a cushion in front of me. “my second can handle my duties for a little while. As leader, I owe you for saving my clan.”

I leaned back as she leaned forward, confused at the fluttering in my chest. This is not the time to have another crush, I told myself loudly in my head, she’s mated, and from ancient China!

“Mei!” I heard Heng’s voice call. “Mei, they need to talk to you on the northern wall!”

Mei’s face fell from a look of playfulness into a pout. “can you not handle it, dear?” she wrapped her wings around her shoulder and flopped her head in needless drama.

Heng opened the door, and before he could speak the green beast rushed past him into the room, woofing excitedly. He laughed a little at the dog and then grinned at his drama queen. “nope, they need you.” his eyes glinted a playful light. “don’t worry, I can entertain our guest!” he flashed a grin at me.

She huffed, and then smiled at me, and then got up, pecking her mate on the cheek as she left.

I tried my hardest to process what the heck she was communicating, and turned up with absolutely no idea.

Heng sat down, and the beast headbutted my arm. I patted her head. “aha, I’m uh, a popular guy tonight, huh?” I laughed, half out of some kind of nervousness from the butterflies in my stomach.

“it’s only natural, since you saved us.” Heng said brightly. “and besides, foreigners never get tiring, no matter how often we see them. The world is so vast!”

I grinned. “heh, it really is.” He almost reminded me of Broadway, so excitable and earnest.  
I found my hand idly combing through the green beast’s mane.  
“y’know, we’ve only got one beast at home, but this one kinda reminds me of him.” I smiled at the dog. “at least in attitude. Only calm when someone’s either feeding her or petting her.” I laughed.

Heng chuckled too.

“what’s her name?”

“ah, she doesn’t have one.” he moved closer to me, idly petting her back. “we’ve been stalling on finding her one. For the time being we’ve been calling her Fu-Dog.”

“Fu-Dog?” I cocked my head at him.

“it’s the breed she is. Traditional Chinese guardians. We have all sorts of beasts here.” he said. He smiled at me and held eye contact for a moment.  
I felt the twist in my stomach twist more when I realized how close together our faces were.  
I shifted back, and he immediately moved away and cleared his throat.  
“so, how, uh, did you protect us before sunset?”

I shifted back a little, leaning on Fu-Dog. “well,” I started, too tired to go into my mind-blowing spiel about time travel, “uh, have you ever traveled very far, very fast?”

“I’ve never traveled far.” he said.

I grinned. “well, if you travel very fast, you can follow the night’s movement across the globe.” I said. “but a gargoyle can only stay awake for the length of a night! So, I fell asleep in the night. But a gargoyle can only sleep for the length of a day! So, I woke up before sunset.”

His eyes widened as I spoke. “that’s amazing!” he said.

“trust me, it doesn’t feel amazing.” I laughed. “its got me all out of wack.”

“what is the sun like?” he asked.

“very bright.” I said plainly. “much brighter than the moon. Definitely wouldn’t recommend looking at it.”

He left soon enough, to greet the sunrise.  
After a day’s sleep with the Xanadu clan, (and me waking about an hour early) I knew I’d be eaten by that damned bird if I didn’t have any more work in this time, and this place. I definitely didn’t want to scare this clan with my giant time-bird companion, so I set out to leave their little mountain temple.

“wait, before you leave,” Mei stopped me as I was beginning towards the woods.

“huh?”

“you can bring this beast, if you like.” Heng said, gesturing to Fu-Dog, who trotted down the stairs and tore over to run circles around my feet.

“what? Really?”

“she’s taken quite a liking to you.” Heng said. “and she’s got a lot of energy, I think traveling would do her good.”

“and besides,” Mei said gently, “you could likely use a bit of company, right?”

I smiled at them, warmth filling my chest where butterflies had made it uneasy before. I grinned down at the dog. “you know, I probably won’t ever be back...” I said. “are you alright with that, Fu-Dog?”

She barked and ran around me, long tail waving behind her.

“I’m sure you’ll treat her well.” Mei said.

“of course.”

“you can name her properly, if you like.” Heng said.

“I don’t know, I kinda like Fu-Dog.” I patted her head. “remind her of where she’s from, y’know?”

The two laughed a little.

“farewell, then, Fu-Dog and Brook-Lin. May your travels never be dull.” Mei said.

“and your home welcoming at the end of it.” Heng said.

They both bowed in a farewell.

I bowed back.  
“farewell, Mei, Heng, clan of Xanadu.” I said. “may your lives be fun and end naturally.”

The last thing I heard from them as I left was Mei’s beautiful laugh.


	2. companionship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> after a brief lull in his socializing, Brooklyn meets more gargoyles! but these ones are a little harder to get a grip on than the last ones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> COULDN'T WAIT SO HERES CHAPTER TWO. don't expect all updates to be this fast I AM still writing this thing, I just have a slight buffer

I rested a hand on Fu-Dog's back as we walked through a forest, and I hummed as we walked. 

_“And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time,_

_Till touchdown brings me round again to find,_

_I’m not the man they think I am at home, oh no, no, no,_

_I’m a rocket man,_

_Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone,”_

“isn’t that right, Fu-Dog?” 

She woofed. 

My mind idly played through moments from my time with her clan. Was Mei actually... flirting with me? Why?  
And more importantly, why did it make my stomach twist? Why did I, despite how gorgeous and sweet and kind she was, feel some kind of a reverse magnetism from her approach?  


I’d chased after girls so often, and felt so awful when I failed, and now when one actually showed interest in me it makes the butterflies in my stomach swarm and start eating my stomach lining. 

I cursed myself in my head. 

And what about Heng? 

He was beautiful. Soft, gorgeous golden tones to his scales. Bright eyes, full of so much curiosity. He was adorable. I wanted to tell him stories to see his eyes shine.  
_Maybe... I like dudes too?_  
But when he leaned towards me, I felt the same kind of pull from the other direction. They both seemed interested in me, in some way, and they definitely didn’t seem upset about each other’s interest. But imagining staying with them, or having them come with me, either of them, or being some kind of mated trio made me... wither. 

Fu-Dog barked, loud and alert. 

I looked up from my feet to see an enormous figure. A hairy beast staring me down. It was twice the size of a car, and it almost looked like an elephant; huge bone spears jutting from its face, long snaking limb for a nose. It made a sound that was somehow both deep and shrill. The noise seemed to vibrate the air in my lungs. 

I swallowed hard and willed my body to move from its deer-in-the-headlights stance. Fu-Dog whimpered. 

“u-uh, woah there, good, uh, mammoth.” I stepped back. 

It stood up on its hind legs and bellowed, and I scurried back even before it’s feet hit the ground with a loud thump. Now that I was moving, it would’ve taken effort to stop my frantic charge back into the woods, on all fours. Fu-Dog ran alongside me. 

I ran until I was out of breath, and then I slowed and realized there were no booming footsteps behind us. Fu-Dog slowed to a stop and flopped down on her stomach. She panted. 

What time was I in? When we’re mammoths around again? Were there even humans in this time? _I’m pretty sure both humans and gargoyles used to hunt mammoths..._

A loud, gargoyle shriek startled me from my thoughts. 

I fell down to all fours again and sprinted towards the noise, Fu-Dog hot on my heels. I slowed only when I approached the tree line, and had to wrap my arms around Fu-Dog's shoulders and dig my heels into the dirt to slow her down too. 

“shh! Down, girl. We gotta look before we leap.” 

I saw gargoyles in the clearing in front of us. They were all fighting, maybe fifty or so gargoyles all at each other’s throats. Some crouched over heaps of eggs, and others attacked the crouching gargoyles, swinging harsh claws at the shells of the unborn infants. 

“lets go!” 

Me and Fu-Dog charged. 

If nothing else, I needed to protect those eggs. Eggs don’t belong in battle, any decent gargoyle should know that. 

The gargoyles startled at our approach. I used my momentum to kick away a big one that was trying to claw a little, Lexington sized gargoyle off of the egg he guarded. 

“Fu-Dog, protect the eggs!” I said. 

She ignored me and tore after the gargoyle I’d kicked away. 

“or do that I guess!” 

I looked around the clearing, trying to find some rhyme or reason to the random scattering of eggs and protective gargoyles.  
The little gargoyle behind me took this time to scurry over to another, much bigger egg-guardian. they quickly moved their eggs together and positioned themselves back to back. 

I looked up to see Fu-Dog mid-battle with about five gargoyles, thereby letting the egg-protectors make a run for it. 

I ran over to join her, and pulled my broadsword from its sheath. I landed a few sturdy blows before they all scattered.  
None of the gargoyles here were fighting with weapons or armor, so it was simple to out-do them. 

A huge number of them flew off, but not before a big one bared its teeth and roared a huge, ferocious sound at the big egg protector from before. She dropped to all fours at the sound, raised her wings and bared her teeth in a snarl. 

And then the attackers flew away. 

Some of the remaining gargoyles stared at me, wary. 

The big gargoyle approached me. I shrunk back a little at her huge form; she had to be close to Goliath’s size. Her shoulders were huge, her face beaked like mine, her hair wild and white. She smiled at me. 

I smiled nervously. “u-uh, hey.” 

She offered a claw and spoke in a guttural grunt. 

I took her claw. “I’ll take that as a ‘thanks,’ I guess.” 

Fu-Dog trotted up to me, followed by a few confused gargoyles. They circled her, tilting their heads at her and frowning. I guessed that they’d never seen a beast. 

Before I could talk to them more, a giant, flaming, familiar monster leapt into existence. All the gargoyles leapt back, growling and hissing, crouching over the eggs. 

“wow, really? Not even gonna give me time to-” 

It swallowed me and Fu-Dog whole again. 

“-make friends?” I finished my sentence falling towards land. 

I pushed back my wings and caught Fu-Dog seconds before we hit the ground in a still-ungraceful heap. 

I sighed as deeply as I could with Fu-Dog on top of me. She stretched her paws and settled. She was probably awfully tired from that fight. I wasn’t feeling too hot either. My legs ached from battles and running, and despite sleeping not long ago I felt very weak. 

I decided I might as well lay for a little while. The sky was dark and starry above me, far clearer than New York city skies. They twinkled like the lights of the city, and like the stars above castle wyvern used to, burrowing into a cold spot in my chest and only seeming to make it colder. 

I closed my eyes. My stomach grumbled. Wind rustled in the trees around me. I could hear a high, gentle sound. A stream? My throat could go for some cool water right now… 

“Get off.” I mumbled to Fu-Dog, pushing away her massive head. 

I stood up and flicked my ears, staying still to listen.  
I followed the sound. As I got closer it became clearer, more melodic. It wasn’t water, it was a voice, singing. Or maybe both?  
I followed it. I could make out the gentle paddle of a stream, and a high voice with a killer vibrato. Fu-Dog followed behind me until she got fed up with my careful speed and rushed past me. 

“Fu-Dog!” I choked back the hiss, trying not to blow our cover. 

The singing stopped, leaving only the babble of the brook. 

I heard Fu-Dog woof and a giggle. 

"hello there! What are you doing out here?” 

I leaned forward to look through the brush. Fu-Dog was jumping up to get head pats from a small female gargoyle. The stranger had her wings wrapped around her shoulders. Her skin was a pale sky blue, and her short beak was curved into a grin as Fu-Dog licked her face. 

my foot slipped and I yelped, tumbling forward and splatting on my back. She squeaked and jumped back. 

“Ugh.” I huffed at my sore shoulder, “uh,” and pushed myself up to a sit, “h-hi, sorry, was just passing through, sorry bout my dog.” 

she tilted her head at me, frowning softly and glancing me up and down. "oh. Oh, its alright, this isn’t, uh, territory.” 

Fu-Dog approached me and whined. 

“oh. That’s good, I’m glad I’m not trespassing.” I said with a halfhearted grin of relief. 

Her dark hair swayed gently in the breeze, and the moonlight almost seemed to make her glow. 

I shifted to my feet, leaning on Fu-Dog's back. The sound of the water made my throat feel dry. 

“are you alright? You look… er… ill.” she said. 

“I'm doin’ dandy.” I said, leaning on Fu-Dog. she trotted toward the water, and I was dragged along, as an alternative to falling over. I let go of her when she charged into the shallow stream. I buried my beak in the water and glugged down a few huge gulps. “just thirsty. I’ll be outta your hair in a minute.” 

She huffed a little. “you look a little more than thirsty. Here, I have some bamboo shoots, they’re in season.” she stepped to a big wicker basket and flipped open the lid, rooting inside. 

“oh, I...” my stomach hurt like hell, and I still felt weak, but, “I wouldn’t want to... take your food...” 

“it’s alright. I’m an experienced traveller, I can find more than enough food. And like I said, they’re in season; they’re everywhere.” she pulled out a bowl and took off the lid. 

The smell of the vegetables inside made my stomach rumble. 

“I just steamed these.” she dumped another jar of some kind of sauce on them. “I know it’s not meat, but it’ll keep you on your feet, in the least.” she pushed the bowl into my hands. 

“thank you.” I said. It smelled delicious. 

I tentatively picked up pieces of the strange white vegetable and tried a bite. My mouth heated up with the spice, but it wasn’t blow-your-face-off spicy like Elisa’s peppers. It was delicious, and it filled up my stomach as I shovelled it in. 

She sat down to eat as well. Fu-Dog whined and pawed at me. 

Our host tossed her an entire bamboo shoot, which, to my unfamiliar eyes, looked like a giant white carrot. 

“you’re a traveller?” I asked. 

“mhmm.” she said through a mouthful of food. 

“me too. I’m from real’ far away.” I said. “my name’s Brooklyn. The pooch is Fu-Dog. What's your name?” 

“oh!” she swallowed. “how rude of me! I’m Katana.” 

“no worries. can you tell me where I am?” I asked. 

“mountains.” she said. “south of a clan called Ishimura.” 

“Ishimura! I’ve heard of them.” I felt a little relief knowing where I was. Angela had told us all about their adventure in Ishimura. That put me in Japan. “where do they live?” 

“ah, in the dojo on the crest just north of here.” She said. “close to the nearest human village from here. But it's not worth visiting.” 

I paused to think and to chew. “why are you travelling?” 

“hmm?” 

“it’s not real’ common for a gargoyle to be out on their own.” 

“....I could ask you the same question.” she said with a smirk. 

“and you can, but I’m sure we have different answers.” I laughed. She was _probably_ not a time traveller. “don’t worry, I didn’t get banished or anything. I’m mostly lost.” 

She paused a moment, face falling from its smile. “I did get banished.” 

I blinked. “oh.” 

“if you have any concerns about my _honour_ you can hand back that food and get on your way.” 

“no, no, it’s all good.” I lifted my hands to pacify. “who am I to judge?” 

I was nervous, especially being so tired and weak from hunger. But she was a fellow gargoyle... but not all gargoyles are good, and she was banished... but she was feeding me, and she was good to the dog… and she was eating the food as well. Have a little trust, I willed to myself. Not everyone’s out to get you. 

She evened her breath, and then glanced away. “ugh, sorry, that was rude… um, why are you traveling? how did you get lost?” 

“it’s all real’ complicated.” I said. I hated explaining my situation. I was tired of acting like a big hot shot time traveler. “fate’s draggin’ me around by the tail.” 

My head was floaty and tired, and the tasty food settling my stomach only made me miss coming home after a long night’s patrol. made me miss finding Broadway’s delicious cooking waiting for me. I wished I’d come home from patrol already. 

“hmm.” she finished her bowl, and tossed Fu-Dog the last of the bamboo shoots from beside her. “have you been traveling long? You really should make sure to eat more often.” she said with a lighthearted smirk. 

“hah, well, in my defense, I rarely get the chance to sit down and eat.” I grinned, dodging the question because I’d long since lost my grip on the answer. 

We washed our dishes in the stream and she insisted on packing them away herself. The wicker basket had arm straps, and fit easily on her back like a backpack. I felt no aftereffects of poisoning. In fact, I felt much better with my stomach full. 

“well, I’ve gotta move on. thanks again for the food. I owe ya one.” I said. I didn’t want to leave, but she probably had things to do. 

“no problem. Try not to starve to death, yeah?” 

I scoffed. “I’ll do my best.” 

I headed north from there, towards the clan of Ishimura. If there were gargoyles there, my destiny would likely meet me there as well. 

Fu-Dog and I both had a renewed spring in our steps. I didn’t know bamboo could taste that good. I spent the walk looking for bamboo groves, and pulling up the little shoots when I passed them. They didn’t quite look like what I’d been fed… maybe they just needed to be peeled? I pulled down a leaf to find the core of the little plant was white. Good. 

I tucked them in my belt, for lack of better storage space, so I could only carry a few. _If only I had one of those baskets or something._

Eventually, I saw the dojo peek above the horizon. It was still a long walk after before I approached the gates. 

“//who goes there?//” a gargoyle guarding the gate said, which was weird, because it was in Japanese. Why did I understand what the sounds meant? 

“uh, I’m just a traveller. Er,” how would I say it in Japanese? “//I'm a traveller.//” why the hell did I know how to speak Japanese? “//my name is Brooklyn. I’m just looking for somewhere safe to roost.//” 

“//he’s a foreigner.//” the guard whispered to another. “//should we let him in?//” 

“//I don’t know. we should call Tori.//” 

“//wait one minute please, Mr Brooklyn!//” 

“//yeah, no problem.//” I called up. 

I sat down to wait. Fu-Dog paced circles around me, sniffing every plant and rock she came across. It was nearing sunrise, it had to be from how tired I was. Or at the least I’d be sleeping soon. I worried that I might turn to stone before they came back. 

I watched the sky. The horizon was still dark, not burning cyan with the dawn. Maybe I was just tired from all that’d happened tonight. 

A gargoyle emerged from the building. He was maybe my height, with his good posture and my slouch, and his dark hair was tied back in a bun. His skin was slate grey. 

I stood up to greet him. 

“//hello, traveller.//" he said, "//My name is Tori, I’m the leader of this clan.//” he nodded his head in a brief bow. 

I bowed back. “//my name’s Brooklyn, nice to meet ya.//” 

“//we don’t get foreigners here often. Why do you travel without a clan?//” 

“//I got lost.//” I said. “//I’m trying to go home, but at the moment I just need a place to spend the day.//” 

“//I see.//” he tilted his head back and paused a moment, eyes flitting around the woods. “//We will grant you sanctuary, then.//” he gestured for the guards to open the doors. 

The doors opened and he guided me in. Fu-Dog followed us closely, tail waving. She woofed quietly, trying to push her head against his hands. 

“//where do you hail from, Brooklyn?//” 

“//ah, really far away. Different continent.//” I wasn’t sure what answer to give, and there was no real way to be honest without either being cryptic or explaining time travel. “//It’s a long journey home.//” 

I patted Fu-Dog and tried to subtly pull her off of him. I considered apologizing for her rowdiness, but decided against it. 

He introduced me to a couple other gargoyles and a few humans. the humans were samurai, here to train and spar with the clan. I grinned meeting them, mentally checking off one cool thing to tell the rookery siblings about when I got home. I’ve met samurai. One of the gargoyles was the second in command, a pale gargoyle about my age. He was a warm off-white. The others were elders, varying shades of blue-grays and reds, with long white beards and ponytails. 

I forgot their names very quickly because I was tired and their names were long. 

“//are you from Europe, stranger?//” one with a big long pencil beard asked. 

“//yep.//” I idly patter Fu-Dog, who paced between sniffing empty corners and sitting on my feet. 

“//do European gargoyles train with knights like we train with the samurai?//” 

I paused to consider. “//European gargoyles train under their own code of honor. We don’t work with humans a whole lot.//” 

“//I see.//” pencil beard narrowed his eyes at me. “//humans are quite strange, but we do our best to work alongside them. Or at least most of us do.//” 

The second in command, who had a beak kinda like mine and a belly kinda like Broadway’s, nodded. “//yes, allying with humans is important.//” 

“//definitely,//” I said, trying to sound calm, “//but sometimes they’re worse than ‘strange.’ we do our best to work alongside them, when they’re not trying to kill us.//” I was too tired to get into an argument. I probably shouldn't anyway, that'd be rude. 

luckily, they seemed to sense my grouchiness, and it was getting close to dawn, so one of the elders lead me to a room, which me and Fu-Dog sat in to rest. I nudged a shelf in front of the door after she left, just in case my sleep was out of sync from theirs. Despite my exhaustion, there was tension in my shoulders. 

“how ya doin', Fu-Dog? You seem jumpy.” I patted her head. 

She whined. 

Our stone sleep enveloped us and plunged me into sweet dreamless rest. 

“//you approached from the south side. Did you pass through the mountains in that direction?//” Tori asked at dusk, over dinner. 

“//yeah.//” I glanced to him from my fish. “//why?//” 

“//did you meet a young gargoyle out there?//” 

I hesitated. He had to be talking about Katana, right? This was probably the clan she’d been banished from. Would saying yes be betraying her? 

His eyes flitted over my face. “//I see. So you have.//” 

I clenched my teeth. I didn’t say anything. 

“//so, she’s still loitering around out there?//” pencil beard scoffed. 

“//and yet she evades us. I don’t understand her.//” Tori said. “//did she talk to you much?//” 

I sighed. “//...yeah, we had a conversation. Why are you askin'? I’m assuming you know her.//” I was starting to feel sick to my stomach. 

“//yes, she was banished from here for a year and a half. That was two years ago. She hasn’t come back and has avoided any word we try to send her, yet she still lingers in the mountains.//” 

“oh.” I blinked. What would drive someone to stay banished willingly? 

“//if she trusts you to talk, perhaps you could bring her back here.//” 

I breathed a careful even breath. The tension rose up my throat. “//I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t get all twisted up in your clan’s business.//” 

Tori frowned and glanced to the elders. 

“//she’s our rookery daughter. We cannot force you, but please know how much it means to us.//” the old one with two ponytails said. 

“//a gargoyle cannot survive long on their own.//” Tori said. 

I sighed and frowned. Why was she staying away? “not worth visiting” She’d said about this place. It all made my stomach turn. She had to have her reasons, right?  
I had to resist baring my teeth at that thought. That exact thought had nearly gotten Goliath killed before.  
But not everyone’s Demona. I needed the whole story. 

“//let me think about it. I might be able to send a message to her, but I can’t promise to bring her in.//” 

Tori narrowed his eyes. “//we offered you shelter and a meal, is that not enough to at least promise us a message to her?//” 

I shifted my weight. Fu-Dog paced behind me. “//I appreciate the shelter, and I thank you greatly for the meal…//” 

_why was she avoiding their messengers?_

Fu-Dog whined. 

“whats up, pooch?” I asked her quietly. 

She pawed at my leg and whined. 

“yeah, I gotta bad feeling too.” 

She laid down, body tense, and whimpered. 

“I… //I think we have to go. I’m sorry for your trouble, and thanks again for the food.//” I stood. “c’mon, Fu-Dog.” 

She leapt to her feet, slower than usual. I turned to leave, doing my best to ignore the pleading faces and disappointed scowls on the faces of my hosts. I was probably being ridiculous. I was here to get involved in people’s business, right? But I just couldn’t do anything with so little information and so many questions. I’d find Katana and talk to her if I could. But not on this clan’s terms. 

I stumbled and collapsed before I could reach the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun dun DUUUNNNN  
> so we've met katana! why was she banished? what's up with the ishimura clan we all know and love from bushido? and WHY is brooklyn suddenly fluent in japanese?! find out next time on brooklyn and time friends


	3. no stranger to betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK finally posting this chapter, I'm still writing the one after this so I've officially caught up to my buffer. drat.

I woke up, with a headache, in a dark room, to a warm and slobbery dog tongue in my face. 

“great. Wonderful. Thanks.” I grumbled before my vision was even clear. I waved a hand to push Fu-Dog off of me. 

They probably drugged our food. Would explain my stomach, and why Fu-Dog was so restless. 

I glanced around the room, taking stock of my surroundings. It was pretty dark, but I could see fine. One wall was metal bars, and a human stood guard on the other side. I could see a hallway through the bars. It looked like a prison. 

“hey.” a familiar, high pitched voice startled me. 

I looked over to see my cellmate, Katana, sitting crosslegged in the corner and looking quite tired. 

“oh! Hey!” I shifted from a sit to a crouch. “what are you doing here? Are you okay?” 

She blinked. “ah, yeah, I’m fine. What are you doing here?” 

“I think Tori drugged my food or something.” I said. 

“I did say that the Ishimura clan wasn’t worth visiting.” 

“yeah, I know, I’m an idiot, shoulda figured that’d mean ‘they’ll drug you and throw you in jail.’” I grumbled. 

She laid back her ears. “I didn’t say _that_...” 

“I just wanted a place to sleep...” I said. “…and to poke my nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“I figured you would. You seemed the type.” she shot her eyes away and frowned. “That’s why I followed you when I saw you heading towards the dojo.” 

“oh.” I smiled, a little warmth rising in my chest. “I guess that’s why you’re here, huh?” 

She huffed. “yeah. I guess I didn’t think it all the way through.” 

“thanks.” I said. 

“bugger off.” 

“wha- no, I’m being sincere. I appreciate it.” maybe my tone was a little off before, from being tired. 

She glanced back at me and blinked. “oh... uh...” 

“so, change of topic, why can you speak English?” 

“OH. _That’s_ what I’m speaking? I have no idea. I was hoping you’d know something.” she shifted to sit on her knees and waved her tail. “I didn’t even notice until halfway through our first conversation, and I figured it would be weird to get freaked out about it at that point.” 

“yeah, I shouldn’t be able to speak Japanese either, and yet I can, so something’s definitely weird.” I said. 

I paused and frowned. _Wait..._

“you didn’t happen to uh, see a giant flaming bird or something, did ya?” 

She stared at me for a second. “wh... how did you know? Does it have something to do with the language thing?! Do you know what that thing was?” 

“yeah, yeah, it’s uh, a traveling companion of mine, and also magic. I wouldn’t be surprised if it set this up.” 

She tilted her head. “traveling companion?” 

“it’s the fate that’s draggin’ me around by the tail.” I said. “I’ve got some questions too. Do you know why they grabbed us?” 

“they’ve...” her face fell and she averted her eyes again. “they’ve been after me for a while. Probably didn’t want you and your dog interfering in things.” 

“they told me they banished you for a year and a half and it’s been two years. Is that true?” 

“yeah.” 

“why’d you stay away?” 

“they... want me to change the decision that got me banished. And I won’t. I’d rather die alone in the mountains.” she huffed. 

“okay.” it was her choice to give me details or not. Maybe against my better judgment, I was gonna give her the benefit of the doubt. “Do you know where we are?” 

“the prison in the human village. They intended to lock me here in the first place, before my clan decided they'd try the gargoyle way first.” 

I stood up. “okay. Human prison. I see.” I ran a hand over the wall. _Human prison means it’s for human prisoners, not gargoyles._ “Fu-Dog, go! Get goin’!” I put on my best get-the-dog-excited voice. 

She perked up at her name, and started running back and forth, digging at the ground. 

The guard watched, at first startled, and then more annoyed. 

I paced to keep her energy up as she tore around. There were no windows, and a knock on the floor and the wall revealed solid stone, thick enough that there was no hollow sound from the other side. 

Fu-Dog charged from one side of the room straight for the wall and smashed headfirst into it. She stumbled a little and woofed. 

The guard rolled his eyes and turned his back to us again, standing vigil. 

“alright, the walls are thick. Thanks, Fu-Dog.” 

Katana just watched us pace. “are you… going to try to break out?” 

“well, we can’t just sit around and wait for our fate, can we?” 

She paused, and then stood up after a bit of watching our antics. “I know a little of the layout of this building.” 

“that’s great. I think I have a plan.” I said. 

I crept quietly behind the guard, while Fu-Dog tore around so he didn’t think it was too quiet. It took a minute of painstakingly slow footsteps before I was next to the bars. I raised a fist and smashed it down on his head, knocking him out through his helmet. 

“now, Fu-Dog! Gettem!” me and Katana both hissed at her. 

She charged, barreling into the bars, scratching and pushing until she bent them out of her way. 

“Good dog!” 

I slipped through the gap and Katana followed. 

“we don’t have much time now, come on!” she said, tearing off down the hall. 

I chased after on all fours, Fu-Dog on my heels. Human guards leapt into our path, and Katana ducked around them. I slid beneath them and heard them crash down behind me from getting in Fu-Dog's path. 

We dodged past more guards until we came across doors. We only had to slow down a little for Fu-Dog to barrel ahead of us and decimate the wood barring us from our freedom. 

She knocked down one of the elders on the other side, tackling her to the ground almost by accident. 

“//stop! Katana!//” Tori snarled. 

And she did. 

We stood still, about seven gargoyles in front of us, humans in armor bunching behind us. 

The elder flung Fu-Dog off, and she rounded back to stand beside me, growling. 

“//Katana. You've betrayed your clan twice now. Do you feel no remorse?!//” Tori said through clenched teeth. 

“//the clan betrayed _me._ //” she hissed. “//I don’t want to marry a human! I don’t want to marry!//” 

“what?” I looked at her, bewildered. 

She glanced at me, eyes shining with angry tears, before turning her gaze back to Tori. 

“//Brooklyn, I’m sorry for capturing you. It was a mistake. But please understand, I want what’s best for my clan. We need to maintain allyship with the humans. Katana made a selfish choice and jeopardized her clan.//” 

I narrowed my eyes at him and bared my teeth. “//are you seriously still trying to get me on your side?! You made a selfish choice!//” I snarled. 

They were quiet, besides Tori. “//I want what’s best for-//” 

“//no! Shut up and listen to me. Katana is your clan. You wanted to hand her over to the humans for some political alliance?! Human marriage makes females property in this century! Is that what being a gargoyle is to you? Sacrificing people that you’re supposed to protect?//” I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but I didn’t let my voice breaking stop me. “//I know a good leader when I see one and you’re not. My leader would never force a gargoyle to sacrifice for the clan. My leader would rather fight an army by himself than see one of his rookery children unhappy!//” 

“//I must protect all of my people! I can’t throw away their safety for one.//” Tori said. 

“//cut the ultimatum crap! There are always a thousand other ways to deal with a situation.//” I let myself pause to catch my breath. “//Being friends with humans is a great thing, but friendship means mutual respect, not throwing parts of yourself to the wolves for approval. You make me sick.//” 

It was starting to dawn on me that this was not the smart way to deal with this situation, but I’d already started and the rage boiling in my stomach was bubbling over whether I liked it or not. 

“//he’s right.//” Katana said. “//think about it, has the clan collapsed in the two years that human hasn’t gotten his wish? It blew over.//” she bared her teeth. “//you failed me for nothing.//” 

“//...you’re right.//” the second in command said quietly. 

“// _shut up,_ Mangetsu! You failed me too. None of you stood up for me. You don’t get to agree now.//” she snarled, tears falling down her face. 

“//if,//” I interrupted hesitantly, “//you really understand you were wrong, let us leave.//” 

They all hesitated to speak. 

“//We should.//” Mangetsu said, his voice a little firmer. 

“//you don’t get to make that call-//” Tori started. 

“//what’s our other option, Tori?” Mangestu's voice almost rose to a snarl. “//if we were to send her to the human now she’d rip his eyes out. You know she’s stubborn.//” 

Tori growled. 

And then sighed. 

“// _fine._ Katana, if you leave now, you’re banished forever.//” he said. 

“// _fine!_ I never want to see you again anyway.//” Katana bared her teeth. 

They didn’t speak again. The two glared for a moment, and then Katana turned her back and walked away. I followed her. 

We left the village through the main gate. Humans gawked, but didn’t dare come close. The elders watched us leave. Some of them almost looked sad. 

We were quiet until we were well into the woods. 

I felt a familiar twisting in my stomach, and I wondered if I would ever lose it at this point. I missed my own clan. I missed clans that welcomed their people with open arms, that didn’t expect anything beyond basic respect of your clanmates, I missed elders that told the same old stories instead of guilt tripping. I missed Goliath and Hudson. I missed clanmates that would stick up for you no matter what. I missed Lexington and Broadway and Angela and Elisa. 

I wished Katana had been born to our clan. She didn’t deserve to miss something she’d never had. 

She paused to root in some foliage, pulling her basket out and hoisting it onto her back again. 

“what did...” she broke the silence, “what did you mean by ‘in this century?’” 

“huh?” 

“you said ‘human marriage makes females property in this century.’” 

“oh.” 

_Right._

“right.” I turned my gaze aside, the catharsis of yelling at that bastard starting to be replaced with the sinking memory of my situation. “I uh. Remember that fire bird we were talkin’ about?” 

“yeah.” 

“it came from a thing called the Pheonix Fire Gate. The gate lets people travel through time and space with a thought and an incantation. lately though, it makes me travel through time and space. I’m from the future.” 

She paused a moment. “I wouldn’t believe you if you weren’t so strange already.” 

“fair.” 

“I guess you really are from far away then.” she said. 

“I am.” I pinned back my ears and looked to the sky. The moon was getting high. “and now that I’ve made my mark on this time, I’ve gotta move on. It's been a pleasure meeting you, Katana.” I stepped back away from her and gave a whistle for Fu-Dog. 

“yes... likewise...” she said quietly. 

I walked down the mountain from where we’d stopped, disappearing into foliage, Fu-Dog following. I ached. I didn’t want to go. I was tired. It was so nice to be around people. But I had to move on. I felt like crying. I waited for the fire. I had to get home. 

“Wait!” her voice from behind me. “wait! Don’t go yet!” 

“What?” I glanced over my shoulder at her as she caught up. “make it fast, I can’t exactly control when I leave.” 

“I, I want to go with you.” 

I blinked. “what?” 

_Did I hear that right?_

“I want to go with you.” She repeated, with more intensity. 

“You… you understand the whole ‘time travel thing,’ right? You’d probably never be able to come back here.” 

“I have no one to come back to.” She said. 

I felt myself waver. She really was all alone, huh? 

… 

_Same as me._

“besides, you’ve been nice enough to me, and when the alternative is wandering alone in the woods, I might as well go with you.” She snarked. 

“ha!” I scoffed. It couldn’t hurt to have a little company... “Well, I can’t say I’m not happy to be settled for.” 

She grinned and trotted over to me, her tail waving behind her. 

And then we got eaten by a fire bird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this one might be shorter than the last ones but oh well. anyway tune in next time for katana and brooklyn and fu-dog adventures

**Author's Note:**

> hoO. it's stressful posting stuff for the first time. will I look back on this like I look back on my first posted drawings?? that's a horrifying thought. anyway, stay tuned for more sad Brooklyn making time friends.


End file.
